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New benefit for capital on tap cards (pro benefit) is the Radisson vip membership. Is this any good? Does anyone have and use this perk?
ThanksRadisson recently ran an offer where they were giving this status out for free so I imagine there will be considerably more VIP members than previously. I’ve not used it yet but one other poster reported being treated pretty well recently as a VIP.
Radisson recently ran an offer where they were giving this status out for free so I imagine there will be considerably more VIP members than previously
@Steven – and even more so given Radisson’s IT was giving VIP status to people they hadn’t even intended on receiving it!You can, because of free breakfast, at least put a £ value on it. Upgrade to ‘best available room, but usually not suite’ is also fairly well defined and would be hard to wriggle out of.
The question of course is how many Radisson’s you’d want to stay at. I think you could safely say £50 for a couple per day of value and possibly more at a hotel with good ‘non suite’ rooms to be upgraded to.
You can, because of free breakfast, at least put a £ value on it. Upgrade to ‘best available room, but usually not suite’ is also fairly well defined and would be hard to wriggle out of.
The question of course is how many Radisson’s you’d want to stay at. I think you could safely say £50 for a couple per day of value and possibly more at a hotel with good ‘non suite’ rooms to be upgraded to.
This is what I was thinking. Realistically if you use Radisson hotels for 2-3 nights a year at least then you’d get some decent value. £300 a year fee for Capital on Tap pro – tax deductible – but also then can transfer points to avios as well as the lounge passes. Do you know much about the COT offering yet Rob? There isn’t a lot of detail about the lounge provider etc on the app – and no mention on the COT website
Am I also right in thinking the Radisson rewards is not valid for any US based hotels
I regularly use Radisson as a VIP and they do treat you well – the room upgrades are decent, the breakfasts are good, and I always get a handwritten note with a basket of fruit or box of local sweets waiting in the room. Be sure to select the discount booster as an option in your settings, the VIP discounts are excellent.
I regularly use Radisson as a VIP and they do treat you well – the room upgrades are decent, the breakfasts are good, and I always get a handwritten note with a basket of fruit or box of local sweets waiting in the room. Be sure to select the discount booster as an option in your settings, the VIP discounts are excellent.
That sounds great thank you. I’m debating the Capital on Tap Pro account now. The only snag is they said only one person gets the priority pass benefit which gives unlimited lounge access, even if there’s an additional card holder, the 2nd card holder has to use the 2 guest passes.
The VIP Radisson membership does sound good, plus a free breakfast is always nice
Just completed a park and fly stay at Radisson Blu Stansted. My partner has VIP status.
Booked a basic room and got an upgrade to a business room. Breakfast for two and two drinks vouchers. Staff were generous and no restrictions of what you ordered.
Had a nice fruit and cake platter delivered to the room around 4pm .
Without exception all staff were excellent.Does VIP status give lounge access? The website is a bit non-specific and just says ‘access exclusive VIP areas in selected hotels’. Or do you have to be upgraded to an appropriate lounge access room?
I’m not sure if it is included or not but someone mentioned previously that there aren’t that many Radisson properties with lounges.
Does VIP status give lounge access? The website is a bit non-specific and just says ‘access exclusive VIP areas in selected hotels’. Or do you have to be upgraded to an appropriate lounge access room?
It’s included, but as mentioned above there are not many properties that have lounges.
Yes, sorry, I was looking at Helsinki.
The website says ‘Rest well in our well-equipped rooms and enjoy complimentary access to our exclusive Plaza Lounge when staying in one of our Business Class rooms or suites.’
But no mention of VIP status.
The only snag is they said only one person gets the priority pass benefit which gives unlimited lounge access, even if there’s an additional card holder, the 2nd card holder has to use the 2 guest passes.
CoT will issue unlimited cards to all employees for free. It is easy to see how this could be very costly, or abused, if lounge access was applicable to supplement cards.
I’ve a Qatar/Dubai trip coming up in a few weeks, and as part of it will be staying in the Dubai Creek area for a few days. There’s a “Radisson Blu Dubai Creek” there I’ve stayed at before, not exactly Ritz Carlton standards but nice enough for a few days and it does have a lounge. I emailed them to ask, if I was to book what could I expect as a VIP member, and got this reply today:
“Dear Valued guest,
Kindly be informed that as a VIP member your entitled to the Royal club lounge access, complimentary room upgrade.”Just upgraded to COT pro & struggled to see the value of the VIP Radisson Deal, given that their website doesn’t always show the cheapest room rate when logged in as VIP, compared to the naughty sausages over at hotels dot com.
However, I did email RVIP and they confirmed that all VIP privileges are available when you stay even if you book externally.
The only perk that you don’t get, when booking through a different provider, is the RVIP points.Interesting, but have yet to book a room with them, despite booking a million stays this week.
That’s nonsense. Book via a third party and you’ll get nothing. Why should Radisson pay 22% to Hotels.com and then be expected to fund your perks?
We had a great experience at Radisson red Heathrow as VIP. Went for a birthday. Didn’t book the most basic room but booked the superior and when asked subject to availability due to special occasion, they upgraded us to a lovely suite. Free breakfast was also great. Under 11s eat breakfast free too. Also had 2pm checkout. The deal was much better value and much cheaper than third party.
Just upgraded to COT pro & struggled to see the value of the VIP Radisson Deal, given that their website doesn’t always show the cheapest room rate when logged in as VIP, compared to the naughty sausages over at hotels dot com.
However, I did email RVIP and they confirmed that all VIP privileges are available when you stay even if you book externally.
The only perk that you don’t get, when booking through a different provider, is the RVIP points.Interesting, but have yet to book a room with them, despite booking a million stays this week.
Switch on the discount booster and you will consistently get better rates, often much better than OTA e.g. hotels.com & booking.com both show £108 for Zurich airport next Thurs, but when I booked on the Radisson app I got the same room for £77. Plus free breakfasts, guaranteed room upgrade, use of lounge where available etc. Plenty of value to be had.
Well, it depends. My experience mostly comes from using Radisson in Stockholm, Sweden, and Bangkok, Thailand. I became a VIP member in 2023 and am still a Radisson VIP as of now.
Pros
I have been upgraded on every single stay as a VIP, without exception. I have had around 98 stays since July 2023. The first 30 nights before VIP status were, of course, without the upgrades. Net nights upgraded: 68. 2 of them in a suite (one was great, the other so-so). 66 nights in premium or executive rooms. These upgrades are nice, and in Stockholm, there is usually an espresso machine in the room.Free breakfast for two They honor it always, usually automatically. Only recently at the Radisson Red in Madrid, I had to remind them on the last day of my stay.
Early check-in Was achieved around 50% of the times I needed it.
Late check-out 2 p.m. or later Was achieved every time I needed it. (not that often, as I check out in the morning on business trips)Discounts (you can balance the discount vs. points, so on a business trip maybe you choose to gain more points). Discounts are usually significant, especially in Stockholm, not so much in Bangkok. It is mostly due to the discounts I have been able to use at Radisson on business trips (fixed budget).
Cons
Prices go up and down based on how busy the hotel is, so many of my business stays (with a fixed budget) have to be done elsewhere, but I guess this is normal.
The VIP points system seems random and mismanaged:
In 2023, I stayed quite a bit of nights and achieved VIP status rather quickly. And when renewal came in July 2024, I was at 67 nights within 365 days. Still, I got warnings in the weeks up to the renewal that I needed to stay one more night to keep VIP status, which is, of course, incorrect; VIP status is 30 nights a year.
In the summer and fall of 2024, I spent a total of 29 nights at Radisson hotels in Bangkok, and I still have to receive this into my nights in the VIP program. I have contacted Radisson 3 times regarding this, and have received points for some of the stays, but no nights have been added to my qualification status.
Suddenly, in early 2025, they did the yearly renewal and emptied my saved-up nights. No explanation. It is impossible to judge if this was correct or not when reading the rules.
All in all, I feel that this is really strange and it is making me wonder if I need another hotel reward program going forward.
Getting it for free via the Avolta Duty Free match has been great for me personally and I now actively search out radisson hotels first for the free breakfast and upgrades. For the first time I’m actively chasing the renewal target to keep it for another year. Compared to IHG platinum which I still have from the long departed Creation credit card it’s brilliant.
I do find their brands a bit confusing however. What’s the “best brand”? Park Plaza? Radisson Blu? RED? Plain old Radisson. The only one I think I understand is Park Inn, which seems to be the most budget orientated one but seems to be a step above the other groups budget brands. Ive liked the couple I’ve stayed in, although the RGB headboards are possibly the most pointless thing I’ve seen in a hotel
Very roughly and with plenty of individual variation:
Radisson Collection > Radisson Blu > Park Plaza > Radisson Red > Radisson > Park Inn.
However, to give an example, the nicest Park Plaza in London is A WHOLE LOT nicer than the worst Radisson Blu, so that order is absolutely not set in stone.
Very roughly and with plenty of individual variation:
Radisson Collection > Radisson Blu > Park Plaza > Radisson Red > Radisson > Park Inn.
However, to give an example, the nicest Park Plaza in London is A WHOLE LOT nicer than the worst Radisson Blu, so that order is absolutely not set in stone.
You missed out Radisson Individuals
Very roughly and with plenty of individual variation:
Radisson Collection > Radisson Blu > Park Plaza > Radisson Red > Radisson > Park Inn.
However, to give an example, the nicest Park Plaza in London is A WHOLE LOT nicer than the worst Radisson Blu, so that order is absolutely not set in stone.
You missed out Radisson Individuals
That’s cos they’re too individual to fit into the structure 😉
I should have also mentioned in my example that The Radisson Collection in Mayfair ain’t all that (unless you have a fetish for tired sludge-brown carpets) – so arguably the nicest Park Plaza in London is in fact better than a Collection hotel.
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